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Ryan Braun: Enemy to Baseball

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Well, I called this one. Several weeks ago, I blogged about how the impending drug scandal in Major League Baseball was going to hurt the sport, tarnishing the sport I love further with greedy ballplayers thinking they were so special. The scandal in question refers to Biogenesis, a clinic from Miami, Florida that over a dozen major league ballplayers, including several superstars, were linked to. Today, I found out that there is an enemy in baseball. His name is Ryan Braun. Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, superstar outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, was suspended last night for the remainder of the season and forfeits 3 million dollars of his salary. Braun was suspended for his connections to the clinic and for weaseling his way out of a suspension in 2011. I have never, in over six years of seriously following baseball, been this angry with my sport.

Ryan Braun was suspended for his use of the clinic. In total, Braun will be serving a 65 game suspension, the remainder of the season for the hopeless Milwaukee Brewers. 50 games for the connections, which included very serious damning evidence. 15 games for weaseling out of his original suspension. Braun made major headlines in 2011, by challenging the MLB drug system when a test of his came up as positive. Braun beat the charges due to a technicality, and what would have been a fifty game suspension was dropped. He was the first player ever to challenge a test successfully. However, whispers started. People were wondering if he was really ‘clean.’ Well, karma came back to Braun. I predicted that if Braun would be suspended from the new scandal that it would ruin his career. And by God, I hope I’m right. Braun is the enemy of baseball. For years, I thought it was Alex Rodriguez. But I was wrong. Rodriguez, at least, admitted to his use of performance enhancing drugs with Texas. What he does now, nobody seems to care, because we all know that he cheated. Braun is like Lance Armstrong. Not only did he cheat, make millions of dollars from his cheating, win awards that many of us couldn’t possibly imagine winning in our wildest on wildest dreams, he did something truly unforgivable in the world of sports. He lied. He thought he was above the rules. Rules don’t apply to superstars. That’s the mindset these selfish, ego-maniacs use. What’s worse is that Braun is acting like the performance enhancing kings before him, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. He is saying he did make mistakes but he is refusing to admit he took performance-enhancing drugs. He is still saying that he did not cheat.

If there is one upside to this mess of a story, it is that Braun, and all others that will come after him, has had his reputation tarnished permanently. The true fans of baseball have very strong memories. Integrity is one of the things that made baseball America’s pastime for years. Braun will no longer be welcome in major league ballparks. He will play. We can’t stop that. But I will not cheer for Braun. Many will boo him. No matter where Braun goes, he will be booed. And that is very fitting. For a player that could have been one of the best of all time, he will never be respected, thing will never be the same again.

Braun is blacklisted. He will never get his reputation back. There are still many players still out there connected to Biogenesis. Find the evidence. Suspend them. Enough is enough. I can’t take any more of this garbage coming from the greatest sport in the world. If a player cheats, using performance-enhancers and lies, there is no justice. There is no respect. I predict many suspensions coming. I just hope baseball can survive this scandal. It’s 2013. Drugs should not be an issue in this game.